Wall construction



H. J. LAFONTAINE.

WALL CONSTRUCTION. APPLICATION FILED SEPT. 27, 1919.

Patented Feb. 8, 1921.

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INVENTOIIR- ATTORNEY5.

' UNITED STATES nnc'ron ll; nuou'rsmn, or .on'rcaoo, rumors.

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Specification of Letters Patent.

PatentedFeb. 8, 19 21.

Application M September :1, 1919. Serial No. azcass.

.7 '0 all whom it may concern Be it known that I, Hnoron J. IJAFON-TAINE,

of Cook and State of Illino1s, have invented a new and usefulImprovement 1n Wall Construction, of which the following is a full,clear, and exact description.

My invention relates to irnproyements 1n wall construction, and itconsists in the combinations, constructions and arrangements hereindescribed and claimed.

An object of my invention is to prov1de a wall construction which ismade up of hardened slabs of plastic material, these slabs being securedto suitable supports, so as to form a wall of relatively low cost.

A. further object of my invention is to provide a wall construction inwhich the slabs are overlapped in such a manner as to prevent thepassage of moisture between the joints of adjacent slabs.

A further object of my invention is to provide a wall constructionhaving slabs of hardened plastic material in wh ch there are metalreinforcing bars or strips which are also used for fastening the slabsto supports.

A. further object of my invention 18 to provide a wall construction inwhlch the slabs may be readily secured to supports without any necessityof boring the slabs. as, for instance, to provide screw holes.

@thcr object and advantages will appear in the following specification,and the novel features of the invention will be particularl pointed outin the appended claims.

1 y invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawings, forming partof this application, in which- Figure 1 IS a perspective view showing aport1on. of a wall constructed according to my invention,

Fig. 2 is a sectional view of a ortion of the device along the line 22of 1.

Fig. 3 is a reduced sectional view along the line 3-3 of Fig. 1.

In carrying out my invention, I provide the usual vertical studs, suchas those shown at 1 inthe drawing. In the preferred form, I nail orotherwise secure paper, such as building paper 2, to the studs, asclearly shown in ig. l. The paper may be held in position by the samenails or securmg means which hold a series of horizontally dlsposedstrips 3.

a citizen of the United States, and a resident of the city of Chica 0,1n the county The slabs may ,of any suitable dimensions, but arepreferably oblong. Each slab consists of a body portion .4 having an upper flange 5 and a lower flange 6. Each slab: is also provided with anend flange 7 whlch is joined to the top flange 5, and an 'end flange 8which isfjoined to the'bottom flangefi. Th1s leaves projecting upperand.

lower -flanges and pro ecting end flanges WlllCh permit the slabs tooverlap in the manner clearly shown in Fi 1.

Referring to Fig. 2, it Will be seen that there' is an inclined surface9 extending from the bottom of the flange 5 to the outer face of theslab, while the lower flange 6 has an 1nclined bottom 10 arranged toengage the inclined surface 9 of the slab un- I derneath it.

Each slab is provided with a plurality of metal reinforcing devices,such as metal bars. Certain of these bars, as, for instance, bars 11,which extend longitudinally with respect to the slab, pass out at theends thereof, being countersunk in the flange 7 so as tobring thesurface of the bar flush with the end of the flange, and are then bentdownwardly over the horizontal strips 3, thus suspending the slab on thehorizon. tal supporting strips. Within the interior of the slab may beplaced other reinforcing rods, such as those shown at 12, 13 and 14:.The latter are preferably extended through the rear of the slab, asshown, and then may be bent downwardly to form an attaching member forthe slab, being secured to the supporting strip 3, as shown.

The ends of the. slabs overlap, as stated, and the horizontal joints areoverlapped so that any water running down the face of the wall would beprevented from passing into the interior, because of the overlapping,and, furthermore, because of the fact that the lower edge of each slab,i. e., the lower edge of the flange 6, is inclined downwardly.

The slabs are staggered or are arranged to lower flange 6. This makes astrong construction without unduly adding to the weight.

In making up the slabs, the latter are molded from any suitable plasticmaterial which willharden. This material may be a plastween the paperlayer and the inside wall (not shown) on the opposite sides of thestuds. Slabs of this type are generally poor conductors of heat or coldand, consequently, the wall construction is desirable for buildingswhich are to be warmed, since they keep out the cold.

The slabs may be quickly placed in position, and do not require to becemented atthe joints; that is, to say, no mortar is required either atthe ends of adjacent slabs,

or between any slab and the one below it.

This wall construction is designed to be used in lieu of brick, stone,Wood, stucco, or other constructions where a finished outside wallsurface is desired. I am aware that other forms of the device based onthe same general plan may be made, but I consider as my own anymodifications which fall within the spirit and the scope of theinvention as set forth in the foregoing disclosure and particularlypoint ed out in the appended claims.

I claim: v I 1. A wall construction compri'sing'a plurality ofvertically disposed supports, a plurality of horizontal strips securedto said vertical supports, slabs made'of hardened plastic material, wirereinforcing means eX- tending through the body of each slab, auxillarycomblned reinforcing and fastening means extending through the innerport1ons of said slabs and'having end portions hooked over said stripsto secure said slabs to said strips.

2. A wall construction comprising a plurality of vertically disposedsupports, a plurality of horizontal strips secured to said verticalsupports, slabs made of hardened plastic material, combined reinforcingand fastening means extending through the inner portions of said slabsand having end portions hooked over said strips to secure said slabs tosaid strips.

HECTOR JQLAFONTAINE,

